Forests, Succession, and Self-organization: Why Old Forests are Important

Tom Wessels is Faculty Emeritus at Antioch University New England and Author of Reading the Forested Landscape.

Tom’s talk will give the scientific rational for the importance of old forests as a functional part of our regional landscape—one that is presently under-represented.

Using the principle of self-organization and its relationship to ecological succession, as well as our current understanding of soils, the functional role of old forests will be explored.

Since the western core of Pisgah State Park is our region’s oldest forest, with a number of old-growth stands, it will be used as an example of the importance of these forests.

Sponsored by the Keene State College Environmental Studies Department and Pisgah Defenders.